Anticommunism / Communism

In Red Scare or Red Menace? John Earl Haynes seeks to rectify deficiencies in the historiography of American anticommunism. Prior examinations, he contends, have failed to accurately explain critical components of the opposition to communism in the years after World War II. In so doing, he indicates, these works have misunderstood and incorrectly characterized the nature of anticommunist activity.

Haynes identifies four principal shortcomings in earlier depictions. First, he asserts, many histories do not adequately establish the connection between the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) and the espionage activities of the Soviet Union. Second, previous analyses have not described the significant links between pre-World War II antifascism and postwar anticommunism. Next, he charges, the accounts routinely fail to demonstrate the scope and diversity of sentiment against communism. Finally, prior works typically portray anticommunism as senseless and inscrutable. "To make American anticommunism in the 1940s and...
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